In order for plants to grow properly, they must have access to UV light, water and certain nutrients. For corn plants, one of the key nutrients is nitrogen (N). Corn plants absorb mineral forms of nitrogen from the soil. However, the amount of nitrogen available in the soil can change rapidly over time due to bacteria, water leaching, vaporization, and plant uptake. In addition, these changes can affect different parts of a corn field differently resulting in some areas have sufficient nitrogen and some areas having insufficient nitrogen. In the past, some farms have applied extra nitrogen to the entire field to ensure that there was sufficient nitrogen for every plant. However, applying too much nitrogen to a field has negative environmental consequences and increases the costs associated with producing the crop.